Best. I-CON. Ever.

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed I-CON.

OK, so the headline is a little misleading because this past weekend's I-CON 31 at Stony Brook University on Long Island also was my first I-CON. Still, it was highly enjoyable - a near-perfect experience - and my friends, veterans of many I-CONs, said it ranked among their favorites. Who am I to argue?

What made the event special for me was the outstanding interaction with the guests. Yes, I understand that they are professional actors and could very well be "putting on a show" for the fans by pretending to be interested in their questions and engaging in conversation. That being said, we've all met celebrities - even at events where we were paying our hard-earned money to be in their presence - who seemed like they would like to be almost anywhere else. If that was the case at I-CON, each of the people who I met deserves an Academy Award.

In no particular order:

General Martok: It was a good day to mingle.

Again, I lie. Even with Big Names highlighting the program, as soon as I reviewed the guests, I knew who I wanted to meet first and most - J.G. Hertzler, best known in the Trek Universe for his two dozen appearances as Klingon General Martok from "Deep Space Nine." Why? I'm not even sure. Some small part of my brain - admittedly, my brain has only small parts - immediately was drawn to the idea that General Martok would be appearing at the convention. He did not disappoint. We had a delightful conversation.

The afore-mentioned Big Names included Paul McGann of "Dr. Who" fame and Nana Visitor, a regular as Major Kira Nerys on "Deep Space Nine." This blog had the pleasure of interviewing McGann (click here). Despite obvious jet lag, McGann was as accommodating as humanly (no pun intended) possible. We also watched an interview with Visitor, who was the very definition of charming. During the autograph session, when I handed her a second photo and told her that it was a birthday present for my sister, she happily wrote out the entire "Birthday Song" as part of her message. I can remember occasions at other events when actors (James Doohan and Christopher Lloyd, among others), have refused to include birthday messages with their autographs.

Rekha Sharma, a Cylon with a sense of humor!

I wish I could say I had a nice talk with Rekha Sharma, who portrayed the Cylon Tory Foster on "Battlestar Galactica," but that was not the case - only because she was not talking to anyone due to laryngitis. She greeted each fan with a handwritten note and made a point of "conversing" with each of them. When I asked if she was getting writer's cramp, she flexed her muscles and wrote that it was a good workout.

Small connections to the actors are always a small (and overblown) surprise. When I told Daphne Ashbrook my name, she mentioned it was a name common in her family and wrote, "I feel like we're family!" For the record, as a bigger Trek fan than Who fan, I got her autograph on a photograph of her as Melora from "Deep Space Nine" instead of Dr. Grace Holloway from the Dr. Who movie. Sorry, Whovians.

I assume it was coincidence, but "Deep Space Nine" also was represented by Casey Biggs, who was the Cardassian Damar for 23 episodes. I had to smile when he wrote "Long Live Cardassia!" as part of his autograph.

Then ... well, that was enough money spent on autographs. Well spent, though, and I would gladly do it again. Then there were the costumes, dealers, panel discussions and everything else that makes a convention a nice break from reality.

Later, I realized I had spent the day in the company of a Klingon, Time Lord, Bajoran, Cylon, Elaysian and Cardassian. Some of the humans were OK, too. Thank you, I-CON.